Derby Wreath

Ok, so I'm going to take a little departure from my normal posts because I wanted to share a wreath I made recently for my front door!  You see, I'm from the great state of Kentucky, and not only that, I get to live in the city of Louisville, which if you didnt' know, is the home of THE Kentucky Derby! 

I absolutely adore all things derby.  This is one of my favorite times of the year.  There just seems to be an electricity in the air around town for the two weeks leading up to the derby.  There is constant buzz about the derby festival events (Thunder Over Louisville, the mini marathon, the chow wagons, the balloon glows and race, the bed races, the great steamboat race, and I could go on and on), and about who is lucky enough to be going to the Oaks and Derby...oh, and what they are wearing!!  The dresses, shoes, suits, ties, and the HATS!  Oh, the hats! 

Really, there are fewer things that make a woman look more glamorous than a great derby hat!  Seeing all the ladies and gents in their finery makes me feel like a little girl playing fantasy dress up. 

So, you may be wondering...do I get to go to the Derby?  Well, the answer is no...and I'm good with that.  You see, we have a great big party at our house every year where everyone brings a dish and sits around betting on the races and playing lots of fun party games.  I throw lots of parties throughout the year, but the Derby party is by far my favorite!  It's no pressure...just FUN!

Part of the fun of the party, for me, is the decorations.  I decorate just about every surface I can find!  I collect all sorts of derby related items at yard sales and other out of the way places and turn them into party decorations.  This year, I decided I needed a new wreath for my front door, so I went to town gathering things from my craft room to put together something fabulous, and here's what I came up with!

I love it!  It incorporates some of my favorite crafting materials...burlap, felt, ribbon...and feathers! The horse and horseshoes were in my stash of decorations and I think they add just the right amount of kitchy derby flair!

Thanks so much for visiting and reading, and happy derby!!

Kate

PTI April Blog Hop Take 2

Hi again!  This is my second project for today's PTI Blog Hop, "Tilted".  This one was inspired by some patterned paper I knew I had in my stash.  I was pulling from memory, and this is what I came up with:

So, the "tilt" part is obviously in the background, and I thought it was super appropriate for a teacher card.  I'm loving how it turned out!  So now that you've seen the card, here's a look at the paper that inspired the card (which I pulled out after the whole thing was said and done).

I'm surprised at how close I was on the colors!  I used the Farm and Barn background stamp to "color in" the rulers, however I had to tape off each one since the F&B stamp was wider than the It's Official ruler stamp.  Here's another shot of the card:

I'm loving things on a tilt now, so watch out!!  I'm sure there will be more to come in the future!

Kate

 

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI White, Black and Kraft

Stamps: PTI Think Big Favorites #, It's Official, Background Basics Farm & Barn

Ink: VersaMark, PTI Smokey Shadow, Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy, Harvest Gold, Summer Sunrise, New Leaf, and Hawaiian Shores

Other: Zing White Embossing powder

PTI April Blog Hop

Hi there!  Today's projects were inspired by the PTI April Blog Hop challenge, which was to incorporate a little "tilt" into your project.  Well, here's the first card I came up with:

Cute right?  I'm absolutely LOVING the washi tape set I purchased at Archiver's last week (they were having a major sale)!  Here it is pictured with the card:

So, initially this card was super easy to pull together...that was until I tried to apply the glitter to the sentiment!  (And I just HAD to add the glitter!  Don't you agree??)  I tried stamping the sentiment in VersaMark and then adding the glitter on top...but that just led to the glitter falling right off.  So I tried it again with a refreshed VersaMark pad, and ended up with the same result.  So, I decided to break out my Martha Stewart fine tip glue pen and traced the sentiment left behind by the VersaMark.  Success!!  Lesson learned!
Here's one more look:

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI White

Stamps: PTI Think Big Favorites #12

Ink: VersaMark

Other: My Mind's Eye Green & Navy Decorative Tape Set, Martha Stewart Ballpoint-Tip Glue Pen, gold glitter from my stash, and gold sequins from my stash

PTI MIM #110 - Take 2

For my second take on the PTI MIM challenge this week, I just gathered a bunch of stamps I really loved and made them work together.  I'm actually loving the finished product!

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI's White and Harvest Gold

Stamps: PTI's Background Basics: Herringbone, Background Basics: Hounds tooth, Pretty Peonies, Butterfly Dreams and one other I don't know the name of, sorry!

Ink: PTI's Plum Pudding, Berry Sorbet, Smokey Shadow and Harvest Gold

Other: Rhinestones from my stash

PTI Make it Monday #110 - Take 1

Hi there!  Well, this has been quite a week!  We have been on Spring Break all week and I have been super busy with the boys!  We have done lots of little things together, but those little things have been enough to wear me out.  I just love those guys!

Early in the week I watched the new MIM video from PTI.  It's all about Collage Elements.  I found the tutorial and card from Dawn McVey to be really inspiring and I couldn't wait to try the technique myself.  But first, I had to clean off my craft table which was quite a chore I tell you!  So, here's my first take on the challenge:

I figured this was a good chance to get a head start on teacher thank yous...it will be the end of the year before you know it!  I can't tell you how much I enjoyed playing with all of my stamps and coming up with a combo that worked well together.  I liked it so much I made three more cards!  Tune in to see!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI's White, Pure Poppy, True Black, Kraft

Stamps: PTI's It's Official, Polka Dot Basics II, Tag-Its #6 and one more I don't know the name of, sorry!

Ink: PTI's Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy, Classic Kraft, Harvest Gold, Smokey Shadow, Fresh Snow and Versamark

Dies: PTI's Limitless Circles 1.75"

Other: Zing white embossing powder

PTI March Blog Hop - Take 2

Hi there!  For my second take on this month's PTI Blog Hop challenge, I decided to go with something CAS. 

 

 

 

For this card I stamped the sentiment first and then added a strip of Scor Tape below.  I then pressed the taped portion of the card into a pile of random sequins from my stash.  Fun right?

 

Thanks for visiting!

 

Kate

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

Paper: PTI's White

Stamps: PTI's Think Big Favorites #12

Ink: PTI's True Black

Other: 1" Scor Tape and sequins from my stash

PTI March Blog Hop - Take 1

Hi there!  Today is the day for PTI's March Blog Hop!  This month's theme is sequins!!!  I absolutely LOVE IT!!  Unfortunately I only had time to pull together two cards for this month, however I think I could go on forever using sequins! 

So here goes with card #1:

 

 

For this one, I used the sequins as little "flowers" on the leaves.  The jumping off point for this creation was the great background paper I got in the dollar bin at Michaels!  I just love the color combo!

 

Thanks for visiting!

 

Kate

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

Paper: PTI's Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist, Simply Chartreuse and White; patterned paper from Michaels dollar bin

Stamps: PTI's Simply You

Ink: Versamark

Dies: PTI's Mat Stack 1, Mat Stack 1 Layerz, and Turning a New Leaf

Other: White embossing powder, teal sequins from my stash

PTI February 2013 Blog Hop

Hi everyone!  I have a simple post today.  I am participating in the Feb Blog Hop for PTI and the challenge this month is monograms.  I made this simple card by creating a background from 1/4 inch strips of paper and then covering the whole thing with a sheet of white cardstock with the letter cut out in the center (note I cut the letter with my Cricut).  Very CAS!  Can't wait to see what everyone else has created!

 

 

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI White, Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, New Leaf, Ripe Avacado, and Spring Moss

Other: Cricut with Plantin Schoolbook cart

PTI Make it Monday #104 - Pinwheels

Hi everyone!  I have to tell you, I had the BEST time last night with some great girlfriends I haven't seen in quite a while!  We spent the evening at Archivers crafting and chatting away!  It was tooo much fun!

While we were there, I decided to make this card for this week's Make-it-Monday challenge at PTI.  The challenge was to incorporate pinwheels into your project.  I decided I wanted to try something a little unexpected and incorporate pinwheels into a masculine project.  Here goes:

 

I think it turned out pretty well...hope my guy thinks so too!

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI's Kraft and Dark Chocolate; patterned paper from the MME Moments collection

Stamps: PTI's Signature Greetings

Dies: PTI's Fabulous Frames Die collection

Felt: PTI's Dark Chocolate, Orange Zest and Canyon Clay

Other: Brads from my stash and gold embossing powder

Papertrey Anniversary Contest - Take 3

My next entry in the Papertrey Ink 6th Anniversary Contest is a card inspired by Maile Belles.  Her clean and simple style is something I strive to achieve each time I sit down to stamp.  Here's my creation:

 

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI's White and patterned paper from My Mind's Eye Lime Twist  Fly a Kite collection

Stamps:  PTI's Trendy Tree Tops

Ink: PTI's Ripe Avacado and Dark Chocolate

Other: Circle Punch

Papertrey Anniversary Contest - Take 2

My next project for the Papertrey Ink 6th Anniversary Contest is a project inspired by Dawn McVey's style.  I just love everything she does!!  Here's my project:

 

 

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

 

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI's Vintage Cream, True Black, Ocean Tides, Sweet Blush and Hibiscus Burst, patterned paper from Echo Park's This and That collection

Stamps: PTI's 2012 Birthday Tags, Rosie Posie

Ink: Versamark and PTI's Hibiscus Burst

Dies: PTI's Limitless Layers Ovals, Rosie Posie, Heart Border die, Edgers #5 Die Collection

Other: White Zing Embossing powder, stickers from my stash, colored pencils

Papertrey Anniversary Contest - Take 1

Hi everyone!  Well, it's that time of year again...time for the annual Papertrey Ink Anniversary celebration!  This year we have been asked to create some projects inspired by the designers' favorite projects throughout the year.  So, here's my first one:

This card is inspired by a card by Heather Nichols.  She used the same tree and sentiment stamps on her project.  This one is super simple, but I like how clean it is.

Thanks for visiting!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI white and Ripe Avacado

Stamps: PTI Through the Trees

Ink: PTI New Leaf, Dark Chocolate and True Black

Papertrey Ink January Blog Hop - Take Three

Whew!  The third (and last) of my entries in this month's Papertrey Ink blog hop!  For this one I was kind of going for a layered frame look.  I had planed to use several more frames, but when I got them all on the card front it looked too crowded.  Actually I was watching Project Runway at the same time and I kept thinking about how they always tell the designers to edit their looks, so I took a second look at my project and decided to scale it back a bit.  I'm pretty happy with the result.  I think it could be used for either a boy or a girl. 

Thanks so much for visiting today!  Hope you have fun looking at all the other great entries in the hop!

Kate

 

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI's Black and White, and Archiver's Grey

Stamps: PTI's Happy Day

Ink: Versamark

Dies: PTI's Framed Out #2, and Fabulous Frames

Other: Recollections Rhinestones and Stamp-n-Stuff Ruby Red Embossing Powder

Papertrey Ink January Blog Hop - Take Two

Ok, here's my second entry in today's PTI Blog Hop - challenge black backgrounds.

For this one I wanted a really feminine look, so I created a sort of doily outline using a stamp from PTI's Mat Stack 5 collection and embossing it in white.  I'm not really loving the placement of the semi-circle, but it'll have to do. 

By the way, the inside of the card says, "I'm sorry I missed your birthday!"

Thanks for visiting!  One more entry in the hop on the way!

Kate

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI's Black, Spring Rain and Vintage Cream

Stamps: PTI's Mat Stack 5 Collection, and Glory Be

Ink: PTI's True Black and Versamark

Dies: PTI's Mat Stack 5, Butterfly Die and Signature Series Butterfly Die

Other: Zing Embossing Powder in White and a Pearl Embellishment from my stash

Papertrey Ink January Blog Hop - Take One

Hi there!  It's time for the January blog hop at Papertrey Ink.  This month's challenge is black backgrounds!  I'm super excited about this one, so I have actually made three projects!  I will post them all separately, so stay tuned. 

First, let me link you up to the hop on Nichole Heady's blog.  Here's the challenge:

 

 

My first project is very Dawn McVey inspired!  I just love her!  Here it is:

 

 

 

See what I mean?  Very Dawn McVey with all the layers, no?  I've been dying to use the patterned paper in the background and I think it is set off perfectly with the black background. 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and come back again to see my other entries in the hop!

 

Kate

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

Paper: PTI's Black, Harvest Gold, and White, Archiver's Grey, and patterned paper from My Mind's Eye Breeze collection

Stamps:  PTI's Movers and Shakers Sentiments, and Rosie Posie

Ink: PTI's Smokey Shadow and Lemon Tart

Dies: PTI's Half and Half, Turning a New Leaf, Mat Stack 1 and Rosie Posie

Other: Recollections Rhinestones